Yours were not the only weather bones making complaints. I told several people that this was not going to be pleasant. We had a forecast of over 1/4 inch rain today, getting icky tonight. Well, it was about 35F, raining, soaking everything thoroughly after lightning and thunder and a good bit last night. Next thing I know that rain was WHITE! Over half an inch of white rain later, it decided to get "clear" again, and now it's coloring up again. IT IS APRIL darn it! All my daffodils are lying face down in their beds! Now that I think of it, I might go bry my head in my bed too!

Are there any nests in the boxes? I also think they are Tree Swallows. If they are in there from last fall or summer they are probably babies that could not get out of the boxes. Tres need a ladder if you will to help them fledge from the nest. All that needs to be done is to make some deep scratches or kerfs on the inside of the box leading up to the hole to help them climb out. There is a website that will give you all the info you will ever need about Bluebirds Tree Swallows and any other cavity nesting birds. www.sialis.org We will also help any time you have questions Cathy Here is a link that might be useful: sialis.org

Yesterday, I had my arborist come by to review some items on my property. My house is quite old, 90 now and many of the plantings have been there for nearly as long I imagine. Keeping them healthy is a concern. There are 2 Mountain Laurels on one side of the home which have seen better days but, continue to bloom profusely each spring. They do need some trimming back - dead heavy branches certainly aren't good to keep on them so starting this year we're going to begin a rejuvenation process. While looking it over yesterday, the arborist (who I know for many years, used him at a different house previously) noticed there was odd damage on nearly every branch low and high. The pattern of damage is circular around the branch, very even, with missing bark and small holes. He had never seen such repetitive strange markings before and immediately we both thought of some kind of animal but weren't sure exactly what. After he left, I found info and photos on Google which clearly were similar and caused by Woodpeckers and Sapsuckers primarily. I sent him a message and he had just heard back from his specialist saying the same thing. So, now we know what did it, but do not know how to remedy it. The specialist thought the damage was not too severe yet - it seemed recent to this past winter which was particularly bad in New Jersey. Probably, they were searching for any kind of food possible. Does anyone know how to keep birds away from specific plantings? I never thought I'd have to keep them away - it's saddens me since I love having birds visit, as does our indoor cats; they give them endless hours of entertainment from afar. Nothing I've seen looks very useful and I'd like to know if anyone has actually used anything which works. Thanks! Laurie

Neighbors I've had planked their vaulted ceiling and then continued the planks horizontally across the wall all the way down the two longest parallel vertical walls to the flooring with really light wood and same light finish for beams -- it looked great. They used the same light finish on the vertical paneling but vertically on the end window wall and same light finish for the window and door trim -- so NO very dark to very light contrast -- which made the end wall visually disappear and permitted the view to be the star. Another house with a vaulted ceiling (but less windows and not a great view) used a lot of light (walls) to dark (trim) contrast and the dark (trim) parts grabbed the visual attention. Prefer to let the view and furnishings/decor claim the attention.